Back In Time
by PseudoSoapScribe
Summary: When Sonic plans a spontaneous trip for Knuckles and himself at a remote location, things don't go his way from the very beginning. But Sonic is determined to make the best of the situation, as they unravel chilling secrets of the distant past, face off against a new enemy, and even get a taste of domestic life. established knuckles/sonic (sonuckles), yaoi, smut, language
1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note: A sequel to 'To Choose is To Be Free', this is a new story that doesn't directly follow-up those events, but continues chronologically, a few months from where it left off.**

* * *

He felt it in the core of his being. Something was about to disturb the peace up on Angel Island.

Funny how he never felt that way anymore, when Sonic came to visit him.

Knuckles braced himself for whatever was incoming, eyes darting all around, until he spotted it up in the distance.

Like a poor imitation of some mythical creature, a giant green crocodile drifted through the sky, carried by the wings of a tiny bee. How the little bee managed to do so remained a mystery.

"Are we close now Vector?" Charmy asked, strained in concentration of keeping the giant croc afloat.

"We're gettin' there! Ah, I see it!" the crocodile shouted back. "There! The shrine! No Charmy, we're gonna miss it. Back up! Back up!"

"Uhh... I don't know how much longer I can hold you!"

The bee was struggling, losing his grip on the crocodile just as they hovered above the Master Emerald's shrine.

"Crap! Guess we're going down!"

"Charmyyy!" Vector shouted, the poor croc careening towards the altar.

Down below, Knuckles made a split second decision, forgoing the emerald for a moment in order to catch his falling friend.

Using that raw strength he was known for, Knuckles caught the large crocodile, and the force sent them skidding backwards, stopping just an inch short of the Master Emerald.

Knuckles would've let out a sigh of relief had Charmy not rammed into them a second later. With the force of all three against it, the emerald tipped over onto its side, with a resounding _thunk._

"Get off me Charmy!"

" _You_ get off me!"

"Both of you get off me!" Knuckles groaned, shoving Vector and Charmy aside as he rushed to straighten up the Master Emerald.

"I'll help," the hyperactive bee offered, running over to the other side of the emerald.

"Me too," Vector chimed in, jumping in to help, although when he pushed it, he only ended up tipping it over to the other side, "Ease up, Charmy, you're gonna break it!"

"Me?! You're the one that's pushing it too far!"

"That's enough! You two need to let go! I can do this by myself!" Knuckles fumed.

Charmy and Vector obliged, stepping away from the emerald so that the guardian could set it straight.

Knuckles finally let out a sigh, only now he was exasperated more than relieved.

"What're you guys doing here anyway," he asked, more miffed than he would've liked. In any other circumstance, Knuckles would have been thrilled to see his old pals, just as long it was far and away from the Master Emerald.

"We're here on request," a disembodied voice cut in before anyone else could answer.

Espio changed into his default magenta coloring, appearing next to Knuckles, much to the echidna's surprise.

"Espio, when'd you get here?" Knuckles said through a smile, a lot calmer at seeing the most level-headed member of the Chaotix.

"Just in time to see the shitstorm going down," the chameleon replied.

Vector's long jaw dropped at this, finger pointed at Espio as he yelled.

"Profanity! So you're the one that's been corrupting Charmy with all that foul language!"

Espio looked unaffected.

"Not this again. You do realize he's been watching _your_ movies," the chameleon deadpanned.

"He _what_?"

"Every single night," Espio boasted.

"Hey, I have not! Not _every_ night," Charmy butt in defensively.

"Well why didn't you stop him? If Charmy starts swearing, he might do it in front of Cream, and if she learns it from him, she'll do it in front of her mom! If Cream's mom catches wind of who's responsible, she won't let them play together anymore, and if she doesn't let Cream come over, I'll never get to see Cream's mom ever again! She'll think I'm a low-life! Unfit to be around children! I'll be a pariah!"

Knuckles was having none of it deciding to put an end to Vector's melodramatic rant.

"Guys!" he interjected. "That's all very unfortunate and all, but I'm sure Charmy's potty mouth and Vector's potentially ruined reputation isn't the reason you guys came over here. Will one of you tell me why you're all here?"

"Sonic has requested our services," Charmy answered cheerfully.

"Sonic? Why would he—?"

"He's counting on you to help him out on some big mission," Vector interrupted, having already recovered from his ramblings.

"So we'll be taking over your duties here for the weekend," Charmy blurted out.

"No you're not. No way. You guys are _not_ going near my emerald."

"Okay! He already paid us anyway," Charmy bragged.

"Charmy, he's not supposed to know that!" Vector muttered under his breath.

"He knew you might turn us down," Espio explained calmly. "So he told us to give you this message: even if you decide not to join him, he wants to see you in person before he leaves today."

At this, Knuckles' whole demeanor changed.

"Leaving? To where?"

They all shrugged, honestly not knowing the answer to that.

"All I know is, this isn't your typical, 'defeat Eggman's robots' kind mission," Espio said.

"Guess it must be pretty important if he enlisted the help of all three of you guys," Knuckles decided.

"Hey, what's that supposed to mean?" Vector asked suspiciously.

"Nevermind. Look I'm trusting you guys to keep the emerald and my island safe. There's a chance I won't come back today, so Espio, since you've done this before, you're in charge. But if anything goes sideways—and I'm talking an _inch_ —you call me right away." Knuckles pointed to the communicator watch on his wrist to clarify his point.

"Done," Espio assured him. "Alright then, get out of here. He said to meet him at Tails' house."

"Right. Thanks."

Knuckles hesitated only for a moment, dashing off before he could change his mind about leaving his precious emerald in the hands of the Chaotix.

Xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

First thing the echidna noticed as he approached Tails' house was the red biplane sitting out on the runway. He entered through the open hangar, looking for any sign of the hedgehog, then headed upstairs.

Sonic greeted him as soon as Knuckles peeked his head in the door.

"Hey stranger. About time you showed up."

"Hey," Knuckles answered airily.

Even though they'd been friends for years, being Sonic's boyfriend was still a novelty to the echidna. Just the sight of the blue hedgehog brought a smile to his face, and an indescribable feeling of comfort. He hoped that would never change.

Knuckles went over to join Sonic on the couch where the hero laid watching TV.

Sonic was about to sit up to clear up a space for his boyfriend, when Knuckles dove into him for a kiss, laying him back down on the couch. He happily welcomed the kiss, as Knuckles sunk deeper into him, arms and legs instinctively becoming intertwined.

"Tails isn't around is he?" Knuckles asked between kisses.

"No. But... I'm not sure when he's coming back," Sonic answered, as the echidna trailed kisses along his jaw, down to his chest and belly. Sonic let out a sigh as he mused. "It's been a while hasn't it?"

"Mmhm."

"So you aren't mad about me sending the Chaotix to cover for you?"

Knuckles stopped, and looked up at Sonic. "Of course not. I missed you... and this," Knuckles added with a smirk. "Though, I have to ask. Did you have to really have to send Vector and Charmy?"

Sonic snickered. "Well... sure... I mean, I know Espio is your go-to guy, but the other guys looked like they could use a little excitement. Besides, you're coming with me for the weekend right?"

Knuckles sat up, thinking it over.

"Oh... umm... I dunno, Sonic. You know I'm down for anything, as long as the Master Emerald isn't gonna be compromised. But three days is a long time to be away from the island. You have no idea how much can go wrong."

"Would you stop being so cynical? Nothing's gonna go wrong. I know those guys might seem a little... inept. But when it comes to the important things, they always deliver. They're your friends. They're not gonna let you down. Besides... if you aren't coming with... I'll just have to go by myself. I've got the Tornado ready and everything. But, the whole point is for us to go together."

"Well, do you mind telling me where we're going first so I can make up my mind."

"All can say is, it's not on this coast. And it's not so much a mission, as it is a date... an extended date. For you, maybe even a vacation. Getting you off the island is anyway. I just think it'll be a good change of scenery from our usual haunts."

"Not that I oppose spending more time with you, but what's so wrong with our usual dates that we have to go across the country?"

"Nothing... I mean, we always have fun... It's just... we always end up doing the same thing. It's always dinner at your burrow, or dinner and movie, or dinner and dancing. And don't get me started at how uptight you get when we go out to a club."

Knuckles scoffed at the notion.

" _Uptight_? What're you talking about?"

"Knux, you almost fought some guy for talking to me."

"Well, yeah. I shoulda knocked his teeth in. That guy knew you were with me and he purposely kept hitting on you."

"No he didn't. And he was just... flirting," Sonic said defensively.

"Same difference."

"Whatever. It was harmless," Sonic scoffed, getting back to the subject at hand, " _Anyway_ , that's not the point. The point is, I think we could be a little more unconventional. Go somewhere where we can spend some quality time together, and then some. Just for a couple of nights."

"O-kay...? I still don't understand why you're being so cryptic about it."

"Because. _That's_ a surprise."

"Sonic! Tell me where we're going." Knuckles tackled Sonic playfully, the hedgehog having absolutely no qualms about getting roughed up. "I'll get it out of you. One way or another."

"What're you gonna do, huh?" Sonic teased, using his legs to pull Knuckles between them. "You gonna fuck it out of me?"

Sonic clenched his boyfriend's hips with his thighs, enticing him further by pressing himself right up against Knuckles' groin.

The guardian suppressed a moan, genuinely contemplating it as he hovered above Sonic.

"Don't tempt me," he growled.

Sonic wasn't making it easy to resist. The hero couldn't have looked more seductive with his brilliant, pleading eyes.

Sonic put an end to Knuckles' hesitance, initiating a kiss that stifled throaty moans brought on by the friction between them.

"Wait, wait. Hold on, Sonic," Knuckles said breathlessly, after letting himself enjoy it for a minute. "Are we really gonna do this? _Here_?"

Sonic was so turned on by the prospect of getting fucked mercilessly by his boyfriend, he had completely forgotten they were at Tails' house. And on his couch, no less.

"Shit. You're right. That's gotta be a violation of some bro-code."

"Yeah... but not really. Since the bro in question doesn't even know his two bros are more than friends," Knuckles noted, sitting back up again to give Sonic space to recuperate. "Still. It's even more disrespectful if we're doing things in his house he doesn't even know about."

Sonic deflated at the reminder that it was by his choice that none of their friends knew about their relationship.

"Knux," Sonic whined. "You just can't let it go, can you? How many times do I have to remind you? You might be ready to tell our friends, but I'm not. We'll tell them, when the time is right. Okay?"

"Yeah, okay," Knuckles agreed, half-heartedly. He could never fully understand Sonic's reasoning behind keeping their relationship a secret from even their closest friends.

Sonic jumped to his feet, stretching out the kinks from lazing around all afternoon.

"Way to kill the mood knucklehead."

The echidna rolled his eyes at the remark.

"It's not like we were going anywhere with it. Not here anyway."

Sonic just couldn't stay sour at the echidna, perking up almost immediately.

"Exactly. That's why we have to save it for our trip."

"Really?" Knuckles asked, still not convinced.

"Yes, really. I've already booked it, the plane's ready. There's really nothing else we need to pack, so all that's left to do is get ourselves in gear."

"Wait, what do you mean you booked it? Is it a resort or something?"

"Not exactly... but you're getting warmer," Sonic said with a wink, before dashing out of the house.

Knuckles shook his head and chuckled, reflecting as he followed Sonic outside.

 _Of all the people I could have fallen in love with_...

Xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

"You aren't gonna bail out on me at the last minute and leave me stranded there, are you?" Sonic asked as he stood next to the Tornado.

"Not gonna make any promises," Knuckles shrugged.

Sonic furrowed his brows at him in annoyance.

" _Kidding_. You're a little more important than the Master Emerald. But only a little," the echidna teased. "Let's go then, before I change my mind."

Sonic hopped on board, sitting in the pilot's seat, while Knuckles followed, taking his place on the wing.

"You ready?" Sonic asked, turning the engine on. The propellers began to spin.

"Let's go," Knuckles asserted.

Just as the Tornado started moving down the runway, Sonic heard a familiar voice calling his name from a distance.

"Sonic!"

The pair looked around for the source of the voice.

Tails came flying out of seemingly nowhere, prompting Sonic to put the brakes on the plane for a moment.

"Tails? What's up?" Sonic shouted over the rumble of the plane's engine.

"Whew! Where're you guys going?" Tails questioned as he landed softly on the wing of the Tornado.

Sonic and Knuckles looked at each other for a moment before beginning to talk over each other.

"Nowhere special," and, "We're going on a mission," came Sonic and Knuckles' answers, respectively.

They turned to each other, but their silent communication wasn't working. It was clear, they weren't on the same page.

"A mission? Cool! Can I come with?" Tails asked, hopefully.

"Oh, Tails, what Knux meant to say was, we're going somewhere new, and it might turn into a mission, but it might also just be a fluke. So... sorry man, we really won't be needing any more help. We really need to get going."

"Ohh," Tails simply said in disappointment.

Knuckles couldn't stand to see the little fox's despondence, devising a plan that might get more info out of the hedgehog.

"Wow. You won't even tell Tails. That's dedication. To be honest, Tails, Sonic hasn't exactly told me where we're going, either. I'm sure you won't be missing out on much. Who knows? This whole trip might turn out to be a bust."

"Knux, you're the only thing that's gonna get busted if you keep talking," Sonic uttered toward the guardian. "Alright Tails, if you've gotta know, we're going to spend the weekend at a haunted house. Now I know that's not something you've ever looked forward to. Do you still wanna come with?"

" _Sonic_. Seriously?" Knuckles couldn't believe the hedgehog would resort to a scare tactic.

Sonic nodded. "Yeah, I'm dead serious. Well, they're just rumors, but from what I've heard they're pretty legit."

"Oh, sure... I'll go. Sounds like fun," Tails answered sounding a bit discouraged.

"Positive? I mean Knuckles and I have dealt with ghosts before. Do you really think you can handle it?"

Tails was aware of the risk, but he didn't want to seem intimidated in front of his friends.

"Sure I can," he said more confidently this time.

Sonic let out a sigh, feeling outnumbered.

"Alright. I guess, you've proven yourself before. And it wouldn't hurt to have reinforcements in case things go south. Let's go then! You wanna pilot the Tornado? I already input the coordinates."

"Yep! Thanks Sonic."

Sonic and Tails traded places, and without much more banter, the trio of heroes were off on their new adventure.

* * *

 **Author's Note: Thanks to all the positive feedback I got on my first story in this continuity, I decided to go ahead and write more! Because there isn't enough sonuckles love in the world, we're focusing on them once again here. This one, however, is inspired by my love of all things spooky, fall, and Halloween, since it's right around the corner. Also, happy back to school for all those of you still in school! (I'm a bit jellie XD)**

 **For any new readers, the character's personalities are very much game-verse based, though the games aren't referenced too much.**

 **I sound like a broken record because I say this in every fic, but it truly makes me so happy whenever someone takes the time to give me a little feedback! Thanks for reading!**


	2. Chapter 2

It could go without saying that Sonic and long flights didn't mesh.

If he were piloting, at least there was something to focus on. But being a passenger just a few hours into the flight, the hedgehog had gone absolutely stir crazy.

So as soon as Tails mentioned they were nearing their destination, Sonic dove off the plane before Tails could land it.

"Hey wait, Sonic!" Knuckles called after him. "I'll go with him, Tails."

"What? You too?"

"Well, he might get lost," Knuckles said lamely. "You'll just have to catch up to us. Later Tails!"

"Shouldn't we stick together then?" Tails added quickly but the echidna had already taken the plunge.

"Ugh. What's up with them," he muttered to himself as the young fox was left alone to find a feasible landing spot.

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

Sonic was already feeling more himself after skidding down a rooftop and running through the new town. The house was still a bit away from the town, so Sonic took the opportunity to get his run in while taking in the sights.

When he finally reached the hinterlands where the supposedly haunted house resided, he slackened his pace to follow the path towards the house.

As Sonic sprinted through the heavily wooded area, he noticed how unusually silent it was. There were no animal calls or scurries and the forest ground was completely covered by decaying foliage.

Nevertheless, Sonic felt something enchanting about a place like this, and he continued his journey through the forest confidently, enjoying the sound of the dead leaves crunching beneath his step.

That is, until the abnormal silence in the forest was disturbed by a low rumble that shook the earth.

Sonic braced himself and looked around for the source of the tremor, half-expecting to see an egg robo, when suddenly a familiar red figure emerged from underground.

Sonic wasn't surprised to see the echidna, but he certainly hadn't expected to see him again so soon.

"Hey! I thought you stayed on the plane..."

"And why would I, when I could be out here alone with you?" Knuckles wondered, as he dusted the earth off his fur.

"Actually, I'm impressed you managed to catch up to me. You must be getting faster."

Hearing this, the echidna's mouth turned up into a small smirk.

"Well, I sure hope so... Gotta keep up with my boyfriend after all." Knuckles reeled Sonic in by the waist, kissing him sweetly before Sonic pulled away.

"We should get going before Tails beats us there," Sonic said, grabbing one of Knuckles' hands to lead the way.

Being boyfriends with Sonic for a few months now, Knuckles had learned to pick up on a few things. Namely when Sonic wasn't in the best of moods, the hedgehog tended to be very direct and less talkative. The guardian figured he should say something about earlier.

"Hey... about Tails. I'm sorry," Knuckles said, breaking the silence.

"For what?" Sonic asked, seeming genuinely confused.

"Not backing you up when you didn't want him to tag along. I know this trip was supposed to be special, just for the two of us. Kind of messed that up, didn't I?"

"Oh... No, not at all. I mean, it's Tails," Sonic said, shrugging off the thought.

"Really? Seemed like you couldn't wait to get away from him."

"Nah, he's my little bro. I can't really be mad at him... That's just the way it's always been. It might be awkward for _us_ when we want to be alone, but... you know, we'll deal."

"You sure you're okay with this?"

"Yeah, Knux... I'm fine. There's just... something about this place that's kind of off-putting. Do you feel that?"

"Well, this forest just seems full of life, doesn't it?" Knuckles remarked sarcastically. "Yeah, something definitely feels off about this place."

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

The estate couldn't have been any more remote or isolated, standing atop a rocky hill, with only the sound of the ocean waves crashing against the rocks below it.

The building loomed high and wide above them, seeming more like a giant casket than a former home.

"Wow. Leave it to you to find a place like this romantic," Knuckles teased, as they approached the entrance.

"Photographs must've been old," Sonic figured, surveying the exterior of the house. "Now I know why booking the place for a whole weekend was dirt cheap. The owners sure don't worry about the upkeep," he added, using his foot to wobble the loose bricks on the steps. "Oh well, this should be interesting."

"Do you really think it's haunted? I'm not getting the vibe I usually get around ghosts."

Sonic shook his head. "Other than being surrounded by the dead-est forest on earth, I'm not getting any spectral vibes either."

"Could be tourist trap," Knuckles suggested.

"If that's the case, I'd say we got pretty lucky," Sonic returned.

"So, we gonna go inside or what?" Knuckles urged.

"Oh, yeah. The owners said the keys would be right above the door frame for convenience. Guess they figure no one's crazy enough to come all the way out here to try to break into a haunted house."

"Or they're too scared to come near it."

Knuckles made a step with his palms to boost Sonic up, giving him the extra height he needed to swipe at the top of the door frame.

"Got it!" Sonic said as he snatched up the key.

Knuckles lowered his arms, catching Sonic as he let him fall.

"Got _you_ ," the echidna said cheekily, holding Sonic just enough above the ground so that the hedgehog had to straddle his waist for support.

Sonic smiled at the guardian who reciprocated a lustful gaze, both relishing in the closeness of their bodies and eager to kiss again. Sonic was about to close that gap when he heard the unmistakable whir of their friend's twin tails whipping around the air.

They immediately detached themselves from each other, putting an unnecessary amount of distance between themselves.

"Hey Tails! You finally made it!" Sonic greeted, hoping to detract from whatever Tails might've caught a glimpse of.

"Thanks for waiting for me guys."

Sonic sensed a bit of annoyance from Tails' tone of voice, deciding not to take him too seriously.

"Sure thing Tails," he teased, earning an eye-roll from the fox. "I'm kidding. Sorry we kinda bailed on you buddy, but you know I don't really do long rides when I can easily get around faster on foot."

"Yeah I know..." Tails seemed satisfied but quickly became uneasy while overlooking the front of the house. "So this is it. It's not so scary," he said quickly, feigning confidence.

Sonic unlocked the door, opening it to reveal a very ordinary, albeit, dusty looking foyer.

"At least the place isn't crawling with spiders," Sonic said, sounding a bit underwhelmed.

They all stuck together as they explored the first floor of the house, going from room to room, finding nothing suspect of ghostly apparitions, or even fake setups.

After checking out the study, the kitchen, dining room, and living rooms, they headed up the grand staircase to the bedrooms.

Tails cautiously peeked into an open bedroom before he entered it. "Looks like this was a room for children," he noted.

"Look Tails, there they are!" Knuckles shouted, startling the fox boy.

"Knuckles! Don't do that!" Tails, said sufficiently spooked but relieved Knuckles was just pointing at the portraits that hung over each bed. One bared the image of a young girl, and the other of a young boy.

"Ugh... that's kinda creepy. We should take them down before we go to bed. I don't think I can sleep with them watching over me."

That reminded Sonic that he hadn't given thought to their sleeping arrangements. He figured Tails wouldn't want to sleep in a potentially haunted room all by himself.

"I dunno Tails, we probably shouldn't mess around with anything that might awaken any malicious spirits," Sonic said, just teasing his friend.

Tails didn't like the sound of that, a look of dread sweeping over his face.

"Besides," Sonic continued. "Knuckles will keep you safe."

"Wait, why do _we_ have to share this room," Knuckles started to protest.

Sonic sent Knuckles a look that he read as, this wouldn't be a problem if he hadn't been in favor of Tails coming along earlier, and he immediately reconsidered his objection.

"Actually, Sonic's probably right. It might be a good idea to keep an eye out for you, Tails. Just in case."

Tails looked mildly relieved and thanked the echidna. "I really appreciate it, Knuckles."

"Good, so that leaves me the master bedroom," Sonic settled. "Hey, is anyone else getting hungry?"

"I am," Tails answered.

"We should order in," Sonic suggested.

"That'd be a great idea if anyone would actually deliver way out here," Knuckles pointed out.

"Good point," Sonic agreed, thinking it over quickly. "I could go pick it up. But if I'm heading into town anyway, I might as well get groceries for the weekend. I saw a market on my way over here. It's not that far, I can probably make it there and back in just a few minutes."

"I'll come with you," Knuckles offered. "To help with carrying the groceries and stuff," he trailed off, hoping Tails wouldn't start to suspect anything.

"What about me?" Tails chimed in sheepishly.

"Tails, I just remembered, I saw this great old library in town right near the market. See, I didn't do any research on the property before booking it and I think it'd be pretty handy if we knew a bit about the history of this place. So what do you say to doing a bit of homework for us?"

"Sure! I'd be happy to do that, Sonic." Tails was sold on the idea, and the trio headed out, glad to be leaving the old house behind for a while.

Xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

"Meet us back at the house. We'll have dinner ready by the time you get back," Knuckles told Tails before they split up.

"Don't stay out too late, okay?" Sonic advised, but inwardly he hoped Tails wasn't in any hurry to return to the estate.

They parted ways with Tails, and after bagging nearly a cart-full of groceries at the market, Sonic was impressed by how much weight his boyfriend could carry.

"Well this worked out nicely," Sonic declared as they headed back to the house. "We can finally be alone for a while," he added, hoping Knuckles would catch his drift.

"Alright. How about a race?" Knuckles suggested.

Sonic grinned, as if the Knuckles had spoken magic words. He didn't have to be asked twice, bolting before the echidna could even say 'go'.

"Not fair, Sonic! I'm carrying twice as much stuff as you are," he called after the hedgehog, already a blur in the distance.

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

With a fully stocked kitchen, Knuckles got to work on dinner, while Sonic sat on the counter munching on junk food.

"You're gonna get full before dinner's even ready," Knuckles said, watching Sonic down a bag of chips from the corner of his eye. He was currently engaged in chopping a rainbow of vegetables for something or other Sonic wasn't too sure of.

"Nah, not possible," Sonic said, leaning in and lifting Knuckles' muzzle to kiss him. "What's all this for?"

"You'll see," Knuckles answered simply.

"You know, we could've just made chili dogs and called it a night."

"Sonic, you really have to diversify your eating habits."

"Hey I think I eat a good variety. Especially when I'm with you. You just can't go wrong with a good old fashioned chili dog. They're easy, _and_ fast," Sonic explained.

"So, kind of like you?"

"Funny," Sonic said flatly, hopping off the counter. "I'm just saying. Leaves more time for _other_ things you might wanna do."

Sonic knew Knuckles was watching him as he walked away, stretching and purposefully showing off his limber body.

"Where are you going?" Knuckles asked.

Sonic stopped to lean at the door frame of the kitchen, looking back at his boyfriend knowingly.

"I dunno, I'm feeling kind of tired. Think I'll go lay in bed for a bit."

Knuckles figured what Sonic really had in mind. With the prospect of sex in his near future, he rushed to finish his task.

"I'm almost done. Just gotta throw all this in a dish and pop it in the oven."

"Okay," Sonic shrugged innocently, leaving Knuckles to finish up.

Xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

Their only light source were the last rays on sundown filtering in through the old blinds hanging crookedly on the window. Sonic's moans, and Knuckles' grunts filled the room, echoing across the emptiness of the floral walls. The air around them was cold and stale, but the heat between them was enough to warm up their immediate surroundings.

Sonic kept his legs firmly around his boyfriend's hips, even after Knuckles had ejaculated inside him, milking the last few seconds of their lovemaking for all its worth.

Knuckles made a move to pull out, but Sonic pulled him even closer.

"Not yet," Sonic whispered. "I love how this feels... when we're connected like this..." The hedgehog trailed off, shimmering emerald eyes looking fondly back at the echidna.

The guardian returned the admiration, trailing sweet kisses from his mouth, down his jaw, and even further down to the sensitive skin on his chest.

Sonic rolled his head back in response to the rousing touches, and arched his back into the kisses, beginning to pant all over again.

Knuckles loved how incredibly flexible his lover was; he grabbed him by his waist, shoving himself impossibly deep, making Sonic come a second time, out of his limp cock.

Sonic writhed and whimpered at the unexpected reaction, releasing all the tension in his body. When he was completely relaxed, he let Knuckles roll off to his side.

"Wow," the echidna remarked. He wasn't sure if he was more surprised with himself or Sonic. "Was that amazing, or what."

"Could've been better," Sonic joked. "Yeah, of course it was."

"I wasn't expecting that at all... I didn't even know it was possible. Did you?"

"Well, yeah... I am pretty well versed in the art of pleasure."

Before Sonic realized how that sounded, Knuckles had taken the remark a totally different way.

"Really? The way I see it, you just lay there and I do all the work."

"Oh is that how it is?" Sonic asked, letting his more competitive nature slip out. "Well, who turns you on in the first place. You do that by yourself too?"

"No. But... you don't have to do much to do that," Knuckles answered, effectively shutting Sonic up.

The hedgehog smiled back at him wondering how Knuckles could be so sweet even when they were just kidding around.

"You just get more gorgeous every day," he added, tracing his clawed fingers up along Sonic's thigh.

This earned Knuckles a kiss from the hedgehog, leading into another heated make out session which was quickly turning into second round of sex.

Sonic somehow ended up with his head near the edge of the bed, as Knuckles kissed and nipped his way down his entire torso. When his mouth reached his dick, Sonic raised his knees and shut his eyes in anticipation, and then his tongue began slicking up and down its length. Sonic let out a throaty moan, feeling the echidna's mouth wrap around his member.

Sonic opened his eyes again and blinked away the blurriness, enjoying himself too much at first to notice. The room had darkened considerably by now, but even in the darkness Sonic noticed something off in his peripheral vision. Throwing his head back a little more, as Knuckles took him in deeper, Sonic gasped loudly. But for something else entirely. He had noticed a shadowy figure, blacker than anything around it lurking in a corner of the room.

"Oh god! What is that?" Sonic shouted, alarming the echidna.

Sonic shoved Knuckles away by his shoulders as he shot straight up and faced whatever was behind them.

"Turn the light on!" Sonic demanded.

Knuckles quickly found the lamp on the nightstand, taking a couple seconds longer to find the on switch.

"What is it? Did you see a ghost?" Knuckles asked, looking around but seeing nothing in the room.

"Wait... turn it off again."

Knuckles did so, and Sonic's eyes darted all around the room as they adjusted to the dark but the figure was gone.

Knuckles turned the lamp on once again.

"Was it a ghost?" He repeated.

Sonic shook his head, unsure of what he'd seen.

"No... it was a... shadow... A black shadow..." Sonic said, thinking how ironic it was to say that now. "I must've imagined it."

"We're in a haunted house. What did it look like?"

"I dunno... I can't really describe it, it was there for like five seconds."

Knuckles had never seen the blue hedgehog so shaken up before.

"Sonic... I'm sorry to say this, but do you think this was really a good idea? Spending the night here, I mean."

Sonic let out a deep breath, looking down at himself. He tucked away his unattended cock and stood up. He didn't want to admit that Knuckles might be right, and ignored the question altogether.

"That was fun, right?"

Knuckles could sense the nervousness in Sonic's voice, even through trying to lighten the mood.

When his boyfriend didn't laugh, Sonic became serious to mask his uneasiness.

"We should get cleaned up," Sonic said curtly. He grabbed his gloves and Knuckles' mitts before walking into the bathroom. "Tails is probably on his way back anyway."

"Sonic..." Knuckles was disappointed, as he'd been eager for round two, but he didn't press the matter, and went in after him.

* * *

 **author's note: Sorry for going so long without updating. Wow, halloween came and went, then christmas, then new year, now it's nearly march. Sighhh. I was so excited about this, but then I went through a slump, and lost all motivation and creativity for this. I worked on it on and off, and every time I went back to it I hated what I wrote. Must've reworked it three times, deleted entire scenes, but I think it's finally okay. Even though it's still kind of all over the place. I have a huge problem with adding in too many arbitrary details, and so I feel like it ends up dragging. I'm like, why can't I just get to the point? Ughh. I still love Sonic and Knuckles and their dynamic as a couple, so that's always in the back of my head, I just wish I could write it down on paper as I imagine it in my mind.**

 **Anyway, thank you for reading, I really hope you guys enjoy this, and as always please feel free to tell me what you think, critique is always welcome! BTW March 16th is a huge day for us Sonic fans!**


	3. Chapter 3

"Perfect timing," Knuckles said to himself, removing the baked dish from the oven.

After setting it aside to cool, the guardian set his gaze on Sonic, who was presently preoccupied at the kitchen window. He sensed an uneasiness emanating from the hedgehog, understandably so. After all, it was only moments ago that he'd been witness to that ominous figure in the bedroom. Whether real or imaginary was still up for debate, and Sonic still seemed to be reeling, however unusual it was for him.

"Are you gonna be okay Sonic?" Knuckles wondered out loud. "Maybe we should just leave."

"Oh... uhm. No, it's not that," Sonic said distantly. "It's pitch black out there. And Tails is out all by himself."

"I'm sure he'll be fine," the echidna asserted.

"I know. I know he'll be fine, I mean, even if he got lost or something, he is pretty resourceful. But..."

"You can't help it?" Knuckles filled in for him.

"Yeah."

"Well, _I'm_ not gonna tell you not to worry. He's still just a kid, after all. And he still gets scared. We all do," Knuckles said, offering him a comforting smile.

"Yeah," Sonic admitted, returning the smile.

It was rare that the blue hero needed reassurance on anything. Though somehow, Knuckles always seemed to exude a sense of calm whenever Sonic needed it most. In moments like these, he was reminded of how much he truly cherished having the guardian in his life.

"We'll give him a few more minutes. If he doesn't show up soon, let's go look for him," Knuckles proposed.

Sonic agreed and they both fell silent for a while, each in their own thoughts, until the echidna spoke up again.

"You've been looking out for Tails for a long time, Sonic. Protecting him... even from things he doesn't need to be protected from. Why's it so hard to just... tell him the truth? Wouldn't you rather avoid having to tiptoe around him all the time?"

Before Sonic could protest, the small fox burst through the kitchen door like clockwork, a welcome interruption to the two of them. The older duo's faces lit up.

"Hey guys!" Tails greeted cheerily.

"Hey! You made it!" Sonic beamed, forgoing all previous thought.

"Of course I did, what'd you expect?" The fox wondered.

"I thought you might have gotten lost," Sonic explained.

"We were kind of worried about you, buddy," Knuckles added.

"Gee thanks mom and dad," Tails sassed. "Nice to know you two have _so_ much confidence in me."

Sonic and Knuckles looked at each other, thinking Tails couldn't have meant anything by it, and the three of them laughed it off.

"You got here just in time, Tails," Knuckles announced. "Dinner's fresh out of the oven."

Xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

The trio of friends settled into the dining room, barely speaking to each other while eating their dinner. Satiating their hunger took priority as they all but devoured their meal.

"This is amazing Knuckles!" Sonic complimented, between mouthfuls.

"Totally," Tails agreed, also still chewing. "This is the best meal I've had in ages! I had no idea you had such refined cooking skills, Knuckles, you've gotta teach me sometime."

"Oh man, you're gonna have your work cut out for you with this kid," Sonic warned. "He keeps week-old take-out in the fridge. You sure you're up for it?"

"Sure Tails, I can teach you a thing or two," Knuckles agreed. "You'll find there's a whole world of culinary delights out there."

"You should show Sonic while you're at it. The only thing he knows how to make is chili dogs. The week-old take-out isn't so bad after eating _that_ every day."

"Heh, what'd I tell you?" Knuckles boasted, nudging Sonic.

Sonic shrugged, letting Knuckles have the win for once.

After having his fill, Sonic finally brought up the research he sent Tails to find.

"How was the library, Tails? Anything interesting about this place?"

"Yeah, but, not at the library. It was closing time, so I figured I'd just suck it up and come back here by myself. So I did. I did some more digging around and to my surprise I actually found a ton of stuff right here in the mansion. It was all right under our noses the whole time! We just needed to know where to look."

"Wait. So you got back before we did?" Sonic tensed up nervously, glancing over at his boyfriend who didn't seem bothered by it.

"Yeah," Tails answered honestly.

"You've been here the whole time?" Sonic insisted.

"Yeah, I was in the study."

"Why didn't you say so? Here we were worried you were out there alone in the dark," Sonic said.

Tails failed to understand what his friend was getting worked up about.

Knuckles on the other hand knew full well why Sonic was alarmed, but he didn't believe Tails would have heard them without having something to say about it.

"Chill out, Sonic," Knuckles urged quietly.

"What's with you?" Tails asked, concerned over his friend's sudden outburst.

"Nothing. I just... never mind," Sonic shook it off, quickly changing the subject. "So what'd you find out?"

Tails decided to brush it aside for now, and continued on with his explanation.

"While I was in the study I found a door that led to a smaller room. It looks like it was probably a den. But the door was hidden behind a bookcase. I'm guessing whoever hid the door didn't want anyone snooping around in there and barred that room off completely. I can kinda see why. In that room, they kept all these old photographs and documents. From what I could gather from them, it appears that this house was only ever occupied by one family, and that was over a century ago."

"No way," Knuckles interrupted, sounding skeptical. "A huge house like this going unoccupied for that long? Seems highly unlikely."

"Those were my initial thoughts, too. But I found copies of these old deeds, and it looks like the mansion has only changed hands a couple of times. That doesn't necessarily mean anyone else has actually lived here. That just means it's had a few different owners. And then there's all the photographs of the family. If someone else lived here, I doubt they would keep all their old stuff intact. Everything in this place looks original to the day the mansion was built. So... from what I could tell, these people were just an ordinary family. Just... a mother and father, and their two children."

Knuckles quirked a brow curiously, pointing his mitt up towards the second story.

"Yeah, the ones from the portraits," Tails answered.

"What happened to them?" Sonic finally chimed in to ask.

"Well that bit was unfortunate. I found death records for the whole family," Tails said glumly.

"What? Here? Shouldn't that be in town hall or something?" Knuckles pointed out.

"I know, right? But that isn't even the weirdest part... On these death certificates it said they all passed the same night... from unknown causes."

Tails let out a sigh when he finished, the details of the mysterious mansion weighing heavily on his young mind.

Sonic dwelled on it for a moment, before sharing his thoughts.

"Something's really suspicious about all this," he said pensively. "Like how everything was conveniently left here for someone to find. But then again..." Sonic broke off, the dark figure presenting itself fleetingly in his memory. He glanced over at his boyfriend, who gave him a knowing look.

"Well, that's all I found here," Tails added. "I tried looking for more info online but there's not a whole lot to go on. All I found was one article about the town's mayor wanting to have the place demolished. That plan was obviously never realized. It said the townspeople petitioned to keep it up for the sake of preserving a part of its history."

"Why would anyone want that?" Knuckles wondered.

"That's small town logic, I guess. Since no one wanted to live here, they just decided on making it a vacation rental. They probably figured it would bring in tourism."

"Heh. I doubt they've gotten much traffic. Only weirdos like Sonic would fall for something like this," the echidna teased, earning an eye-roll from the hedgehog.

"Ever since it's been open to the public, people have reported some strange stuff going on in here. They say that it's only safe during the daylight hours. As soon as nightfall hits, that's when all the creepy stuff starts happening."

Knuckles glanced over at Sonic, knowing Tails' statement corroborated with their earlier incident in the bedroom.

"What kind of stuff?" Knuckles asked. "Ghosts?"

"That's what I'm thinking. There's been accounts of moving objects and such. So I did some digging into some ghost lore online. It's pretty universally accepted that ghosts are the souls of beings who have died with strong ties to this world. Ones who's lives have been cut short unexpectedly. They can become tethered to the place where their soul left their body, and they 'live' in that place until they lose their humanity and become those soulless white spirits, like the ones you and Sonic have dealt with. They're tend to be very primal and child-like."

"That makes sense," Knuckles agreed. "The ones that we've seen have only been interested in causing mischief. Well, if there are ghosts haunting this old house, Sonic and I will be able to take care of them, easy."

"I sure hope so," Tails said.

"We'll just have to find that out for ourselves," Sonic surmised. "Man, I think I've had enough of all this ghost talk. Is anyone up for some stargazing? There's a perfect spot for it up on the roof."

Both Knuckles and Tails agreed to the change of scenery. After cleaning up, Sonic led them to a balcony and then up a ladder to the rooftop.

Xxxxxxxxxxxxxx

The three of them sat side by side on the slope of the roof, with Sonic sitting in between his two friends. The black veil of night was only illuminated by the twinkles of stars and the crescent moon grinning down at them.

An ocean breeze blew gently on their faces, relaxing them as they listened to the sounds of the waves crashing against the rocky cliffs below. That seemed to be the only sound surrounding this area.

Sonic's eyes meandered over to his boyfriend, who was focused on figuring out the patterns in the sky. He thought of how perfectly romantic it might have been, had it just been the two of them together.

"The stars seem so much brighter out here," Sonic mused.

"Isn't that, Solaris?" Knuckles asked, pointing out the constellation named after a sun god.

"Good eye Knuckles," Tails remarked. "Didn't think you'd recognize it. First the cooking, now the constellations. You're just full of surprises."

"I don't really keep up with astrology or anything. I've just picked up a few things here and there. You know, there's only so much you can do alone on a floating island."

"Ohh," Tails said simply. He turned his attention to the hedgehog who had been lost in his own thoughts. "This was a great idea, Sonic. The sky's so clear tonight."

Sonic felt a chill that sent a small shiver down his body.

"Yeah. It's getting kinda cold, though," he said.

Knuckles instinctively put an arm around his boyfriend, caressing his shoulder to warm him up.

"Not _that_ cold," Sonic joked in response, nudging his arm away. Normally, he would have appreciated the gesture, but given the circumstance he hoped Knuckles would understand.

Sonic laid down on his back, with his arms folded behind his quills, all while the echidna eyed him with an unreadable expression.

After another brief silence, Knuckles spoke up again.

"Hey guys, I'm kind of burnt out," he announced. "I'm gonna turn in for the night."

Knuckles quickly dismissed himself from the group, making Sonic all too aware of the guardian's disappointment. The hedgehog seriously began questioning whether hiding their relationship from their friends was worth all the grief that came from it. It started to nag at him so much so that he contemplated telling Tails the truth right then and there.

"Hey Tails," Sonic called on his friend, still on the fence of what he would say.

"Hm?"

"I'm gonna tell you something... and I don't think you're gonna like what you hear. But please, don't take it the wrong way."

Tails half-shrugged, waiting for Sonic to carry on.

"This trip... It was just supposed to be for me and Knuckles."

"Yeah I kinda got that earlier," Tails answered non-chalantly.

"You did?"

"You guys really don't think I can handle it, can you?"

"What? No, it wasn't Knuckles, that was all me," Sonic started, but the fox cut him off.

"Okay then, I'll prove it to you. I'm prepared to face anything that might be haunting this house."

The hedgehog was at a loss for words. He wanted to say that wasn't at all what he meant, that he had misunderstood, but the words wouldn't leave his mouth. All he could think of doing was offering an apology.

"I'm... sorry, Tails."

"It's okay. There's still a lot I have to do before I get to yours and Knuckles' level," Tails paused briefly to yawn, tired from their day of traveling. "Speaking of, I think Knuckles had the right idea. We should turn in, too, Sonic... Let's try to get some rest in case we start hearing the things that go bump in the night."

"Alright," Sonic agreed. "Let's go."

Once inside, they bid each other a goodnight, going into their respective rooms for the night.

Xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

Knuckles heard the fox come in and climb into the furthermost bed in the room. He seemed to have fallen asleep quickly, going by his steady breathing, despite being in an unfamiliar room.

The guardian on the other hand wasn't having as easy a time adjusting. Not only was it hard to fall asleep in a new setting, but, he also couldn't help feeling the senseless tension between Sonic and himself that he just couldn't seem to shake.

A soft creak snapped the echidna out of his thoughts, and he immediately looked to the door. He couldn't recall if Tails had left it slightly open, and a draft had caused it to open wider. All he could make out was a dim light coming in from a source outside the bedroom.

His heart skipped a beat when he felt his bed shift under someone's weight.

"Don't freak out, it's me," came Sonic's reassuring whisper in the darkness. "Is Tails asleep?"

"I... I think so. Sonic. What're you doing?" he asked as Sonic swung a leg over his hips to straddle him, leaning in to trail small kisses along his jaw.

"I couldn't leave you hanging. I wanna know that we're good."

"We're good," Knuckles answered half-heartedly.

"Do you meant that? I want you to mean it, Knux. Come on. Come back to my room. We can talk about it. Or we can just..." Sonic said, caressing his boyfriend's chest. "...finish what we started earlier." That said, Sonic playfully swayed his hips hoping to entice his boyfriend further.

" _Slut_."

The hedgehog let out a nervous laugh, uncertain of what he'd heard.

"What'd you say?"

"I said okay, let's go."

Sonic was suspicious, having heard something entirely different but he wasn't going to press the matter. He rolled off the echidna and took his hand to lead him into his bedroom.

xxxxxxxxxxxx

Back in the master bedroom, they both slid comfortably under the covers of the roomy bed.

"No, leave it on," Sonic urged, when Knuckles reached to turn off the lamp.

"Why?"

"Because. I'll miss looking at your sexy mug."

Knuckles frowned and quirked a brow at Sonic.

"Scared?"

The hedgehog didn't answer, looking off to the side where he'd seen the shadowy silhouette earlier.

"I'm a little scared, too," the guardian admitted. "But it's not so bad when we're together."

Sonic initiated a kiss, Knuckles rolling onto him to deepen it. He broke it momentarily, trailing licks and nips from his shoulders and chest, and even further down to the peach part of his torso.

Sonic raised his arms, placing them on either side of his head, letting his lover have complete dominance over his body.

"D'you wanna... pick up where you left off," the hedgehog managed to utter, between eager pants.

Knuckles paused briefly to look up at the hedgehog.

"No," he simply answered, and crawled back up to kiss him.

Sonic was slightly disconcerted with his answer. He was certain his boyfriend would say yes. Even though he got an immense satisfaction whenever Knuckles made love to him, there were times he wished the guardian would opt for the less painful alternatives.

He was surprised to feel the echidna already aroused and seeking entry into his body.

"That was fast," Sonic teased.

" _You're_ telling me that?"

"You were the one who told me once, that some things are better taken slow."

"Hm... that seems to have escaped my memory. Whatever. I just can't wait to get in that tight ass of yours."

Knuckles scooped one of his huge gloved hands under Sonic's lower back, guiding him closer while he entered his body. He completely disregarded the twin rips his spikes made on the bed sheets.

Sonic raised his knees and spread his legs further apart to facilitate the motion. He let out a small involuntary whine. No matter how many times they had sex, Sonic could never get used to the initial pain of Knuckles' girthy cock.

"Hey, easy... I'm still kind of sore."

"Just relax. You're tensing up."

Sonic wondered why that was. Was he tense about something? In a moment, his boyfriend filled him up completely. He started to feel himself ease up when Knuckles began thrusting deep into him, hitting his prostate with more aggressively than usual. The pleasure was so intense, Sonic could barely control his volume, he feared his moans would carry over through the walls. He clapped his hand over his mouth, attempting to muffle out his voice.

"You _do_ like it rough, don't you?"

Sonic had his eyes clenched shut and now they fluttered open, only to see a vehement violet gaze staring back at him. He uncovered his mouth breathing heavily to question the echidna.

"What?"

That was all he could manage to say while doing his best to suppress a whimper. He was trembling, feeling himself peaking closer and closer to orgasm.

"Knuckles, please. Stop," Sonic pleaded, pushing Knuckles away by the shoulders.

"Well, it's true isn't it? Someone once told me that you like it rough," the echidna said, his chest rising and falling from exertion.

Sonic knitted his brows together in confusion, still trying to catch his breath as well.

"I think we both know who that was," Knuckles added.

"Why would you bring that up right now? When we're in the middle of..."

"I just wanted to know if it was true. And I got my answer."

"Knuckles, you're the best... Best I've ever had. There's no need for—"

"Do you compare me to him? And all the other guys you've ever slept with?"

"What's the matter with you? Why're you doing this?"

"Because," Knuckles said calmly.

He caressed Sonic's torso, sliding a hand up his belly and chest, until he reached his throat, where his hand lingered, thumbing the crook between his head and shoulders.

"You're a _fucking_ slut." At that moment, Knuckles' powerful fist closed around Sonic's throat, beginning to suffocate the hedgehog.

"Do you think about him, when you're with me?"

Sonic was mortified. He tried to fight back, but where he was pinned under Knuckles immense strength, there wasn't much room to do so. He punched, and shoved, and kicked, all to no avail. With his vision blurring and darkening, he knew he was rapidly losing consciousness, and he fought until his fears drifted away into nothingness.

Xxxxxxxxxxxxx

Sonic awoke gasping for air. He felt as if he'd been holding his breath for too long, his whole body trembling. He bolted upright, and removed the covers from himself. He was in the same bed, with Knuckles asleep right next to him as if nothing had happened. Even the lamp was still on. Sonic knew there was something horribly wrong. He could feel it in the core of his body. With his trembling hand, he touched himself from his belly down to his pelvis, then below that and felt the residuals of sex on himself.

He couldn't believe what had happened. He refused to. But the way his body felt physically couldn't be more concrete proof that it did.

He looked over at the guardian sleeping soundly, and started to breathe sharply, bolting out of bed and into the master bathroom, locking the door behind himself.

He turned the light on and approached the large rectangular mirror cautiously to look at himself and assess the damage he was sure would be visible. Upon closer inspection, he noticed a slight redness under his blue pelt.

The hedgehog was at a loss. Confused. Unable to think clearly. He started to run on auto, letting the shower run, then sat on its floor to let the mist wash over him.

He might have sat in the shower for a few minutes or an hour, but he couldn't be sure. He lost track of time in there until he could finally face reality again.

When he was ready, he turned off the water and dried off, taking another few minutes before cautiously opening the bathroom door.

Sitting at the edge of the bed was Knuckles, now wide awake, with a worried expression on his face.

"Sonic. Are you okay?"

Sonic let out a sound somewhere between a scoff and nervous laughter.

"What kind of question is that? I'm getting Tails and getting the _fuck_ out of here. Don't try to stop me."

"What? Why?"

"Stop acting like it didn't happen! One minute we're making love and the next you're... you're..."

"What're you talking about? Did you seriously forget? We were kissing and then you just conked out. I was worried but I didn't want to wake you. I mean, I tried, but you were in such deep sleep that I couldn't."

Sonic huffed, and shook his head, running to get past Knuckles to the door.

The echidna moved almost as fast as the hedgehog, only catching him by the tips of his fingers and pulled him towards himself, forcing Sonic to look at him.

He saw fear in Sonic's eyes, something he could never imagine seeing when those phosphorescent emerald eyes looked back at him.

"Something's really wrong here, Sonic. I have a terrible feeling about this place," Knuckles declared.

Sonic could see that the red echidna was being genuine. He studied his face, Knuckles' violet eyes were unwavering. He was still reluctant when the guardian pulled him into his arms, but he allowed him to do so anyway.

"Knux... something happened... and it felt very real..." Sonic stopped talking, not wanting to break down in front of his boyfriend. He wrapped his hands tightly around his lean waist, burrowing himself in the comfort of Knuckles embrace.

"Shh... Sonic... it's okay," Knuckles whispered soothingly, nuzzling him and caressing his lower back, only lifting his head to plant a small, chaste kiss on his cheek.

* * *

 **A/N: So, an update! After... I dunno like five months maybe? Gosh it's been too long. And Sonic's birthday just came and went too! Looking forward to two games this year, like whaaat?! How did we get so lucky! And these games look so amazing! I'm super stoked for both Forces and Mania!**

 **But wow, half this year already flew by.**

 **Anyway, if there's anyone still following this story, I apologize for taking so long. I still want to finish this and that other story, too. It's in the works... like very early stages... like, right now, it's mostly disjointed ideas. Kinda like this one XD But at least this has *some* semblance of plot. I guess? u_u;**

 **Sometimes I go back to read my stuff and see how clumsily written it all is... like what even possessed me to write this stuff? LOL. Welp, to the few of you who like my stuff, I hope you enjoy this and the other stuff I'm hoping to get to, too! I'm really trying now. I want to finish before the new games are out!**

 **As always thank you for reading! And feedback is greatly appreciated! Toodles!**


	4. Chapter 4

Sonic relished in their embrace a moment longer, before snapping back to reality, surreal as it seemed to be.

"No, it's not... It's not okay," Sonic uttered with renewed confidence, distancing himself from Knuckles. "I know how I felt when I woke up. I can still feel it. You did something to me."

"Me? I did something? Tell me. What did I do, Sonic?" Knuckles asked raising his volume, with an incredulous look on his face.

"Don't do that. Don't act like I'm the one that's crazy!" Sonic shouted, taking another step back.

"You're not making any sense! The only thing I understand is that this house is seriously fucking with your mind! You should have listened to me. We should've just left at the first sign that something was wrong."

"Fine. Fine. That's exactly what I'm gonna do. Don't follow me."

Sonic turned on his heel, not wanting to linger for a moment longer, but turning his back on the echidna proved to be a huge mistake.

With narrowed eyes and balled up fists, Knuckles lunged at the hedgehog from behind.

"You brought us here! You stupid bitch!"

Before Sonic could feel the painful blow to his head, his body had collapsed against the floor, the impact leaving his world fading to black once again.

Xxxxxxxx

Sonic's eyes slowly fluttered open as he regained consciousness. He was in shock, lying still where he fell. The hedgehog was in such utter disbelief, he refused to believe any of it was actually happening. He wished he could just wake up from this nightmare.

In the next moments, Sonic found it difficult to simply sit up, let alone stand up. He only got as far as getting on his hands and knees, before he had to hold his pounding head.

He made an effort to crawl over to the wall, using it to support himself as he stood up.

Eyes quickly scanning the bedroom, Sonic found no trace of the echidna this time. He leaned on the wall for a while, trying to regain his strength, but it was proving to be difficult. He felt as if his energy was being drained from his body.

His mind, however, was going a million miles a minute, all thoughts leading back to the red guardian. Sonic blinked away the bleariness in his eyes, forcing away the thought of their relationship ending this way for the two of them.

Tails finally made his way to the forefront of Sonic's mind. Sonic remembered his little fox friend was still sleeping in the other room. The thought of Tails completely unaware of what was going on and waking up to something awful gave the hedgehog the strength he needed to push forward and run to his room.

Sonic stumbled into the room where Tails was sleeping, looking for something to light up the dark room.

"Hey, Tails. Buddy, you need to wake up," the hedgehog said softly, as he hastily fumbled around to turn on the lamp next to Tails' bed. With the room now illuminated, he could see that the fox missing.

"Tails?" Sonic called out hopefully, looking around the room.

With no sign of his younger friend, Sonic had an awful feeling at the pit of his stomach, but he didn't allow himself to think cynically.

"He has to still be here somewhere, there's no way he'd leave on his own," Sonic muttered to himself, leaving the room before finishing the thought.

Sonic sped down the stairs, although not without some struggle, and he rushed through the kitchen, then the other rooms in the lower floor, calling out for his best friend.

"Tails! Come on, I'm freaking out here," he added more to himself than to his missing friend.

It occurred to Sonic that he hadn't even seen the hidden den Tails had mentioned during dinner, and quickly went to investigate it.

As Sonic entered the study, he noticed the bookcase was still pushed away from the wall and there was a light coming from behind the hidden door.

"He's probably just snooping around in here," Sonic thought to himself.

"Tails?" He asked aloud as he went inside the smaller room.

The room was with lined with bookcases, a writing desk, a huge couch, and a large comfortable looking armchair. The hedgehog thought it strange that the room lacked any windows.

Sonic cautiously walked through the den, scanning over all the book spines as he walked along the length of the back wall. Turning the corner, he was momentarily startled by the sight of two small children sitting on the floor behind the armchair.

They were facing each other, but Sonic immediately recognized them as the ones from the portraits.

"Don't cry," Sonic heard the human girl say to the smaller boy.

She looked to be around the same age as Tails, and the boy perhaps a year or two younger.

"Daddy is going to take us away from here soon. He promised," she went on, drying her little brother's tears.

"Our real daddy?" the boy asked.

The girl nodded, reassuring her younger brother.

"What about mom," the boy wondered.

"She'll come with us, too."

The girl pulled her sibling into an embrace.

Sonic couldn't believe what he was seeing. These children who were supposed to be dead for decades were sitting right in front of him, flesh and all. They looked like the furthest things from ghostly apparitions. If he reached out and touched them, Sonic was sure he would feel them.

Sonic was about to make his presence known, when a ringing began in his ears and a light so bright filled his vision, that he had to shield his eyes.

The flash was gone in a moment, and when Sonic reopened his eyes, so were the children. Feeling a sudden burst of energy, he didn't take any more chances, running out of the den, out of the study and into the foyer, where he noticed the first rays of dawn filtering in through the windows.

"It's morning..." the hedgehog said to himself as he approached the door.

"Sonic!"

Sonic turned around at the sound of Tails' voice, eyes brightening at the sight of his best friend.

The fox propelled himself down the long staircase, with Knuckles running close beside him, flying until he reached Sonic.

The blue hedgehog greeted him with open arms as Tails crashed into him for a hug.

"Boy, are you a sight! We've been looking everywhere for you! Where were you?" Tails asked.

Sonic let out a sigh a relief, smiling at the fox boy as they pulled away from their hug. He briefly looked warily at the echidna standing beside Tails, but Knuckles fixed his gaze elsewhere.

"I can't really, say. I'm just glad you're okay. Some really weird things have been happening to me."

"Same here. And Knuckles, too."

"Really?"

"Yeah," Tails answered.

"We need to go then. Right now. I should've never brought you here. None of us should have ever come here."

Sonic opened the front door, grabbing hold of Tails and Knuckles in each of his hands, and ran out the door.

"Tails which way's the plane?" Sonic shouted.

"That way... I think" Tails said, pointing with his free hand. "But wait! Slow down a minute, Sonic. I can't keep up!" Tails yelled back, as he was being practically dragged through the forest.

"Come on, you can go faster than that," Sonic insisted.

Tails pulled himself out of Sonic's grip, hovering in the air while catching his breath.

Sonic stopped running, letting go of Knuckles as well. The echidna crossed his arms, still keeping quiet.

"I think we're safe out here," Tails said.

"Safe? Tails, take a look around. There's something really wrong about this forest. It's completely dead. And that house... it wasn't haunted. There's some other force at work in there."

"What exactly happened to you, Sonic?" Tails asked.

"So many things... I... I don't really know where to start."

"Well, I can tell you what I saw... I already told Knuckles, but, they were like projections of things that I think actually happened way back then, when the original residents of the mansion were alive. They looked so real, like, these things were actually happening in front of me. I saw the parents. They were arguing... and then it got really ugly. I don't even know how long it took for it all to happen. By the time I found Knuckles, it was almost morning. But I had barely just gone to sleep when the noise woke me up. It felt like time didn't exist or something. It was all just so jumbled up."

"Oh... I also saw the original residents of the mansion," Sonic finally admitted. "The two children that lived there. The older sister was consoling her little brother. If what you saw was their parents fighting, then maybe that's what the kid was crying about."

"It would make sense," Tails concluded. "That's just terrible."

"Do you think it's possible that we actually went back in time?" Sonic asked Tails.

"Something like this has happened before..." Knuckles interjected. "Back on Angel Island."

"I remember that," Tails remarked. "When we each saw the events that happened when Chaos was released from the Master Emerald for the first time."

"Exactly. But it seems you two were the only ones affected this time," Knuckles added.

"So, nothing happened to you, Knuckles?" Sonic asked suspiciously.

The guardian's serious expression fell, and Tails noticed, taking it upon himself to fill Sonic in.

"Knuckles is pretty sure he blacked out a few times. He doesn't know how he got there, but he woke up in the master bedroom. You weren't there by that time."

"Is that really true?"

Knuckles finally looked at Sonic directly to answer him.

"Of course. Why would I lie to Tails about something like that, Sonic?" Knuckles responded, seemingly hinting at something else.

Sonic thought he understood what Knuckles was getting at, backing down on questioning him for the time being.

"Whatever," Sonic began dismissively. "I'm just glad we're out of that place and we're all in one piece. I don't know about you guys, but I want to get as far away from this godforsaken piece of land as possible."

"Well, I hope the other side of the country is far enough away for you," Tails reaffirmed.

"Yeah. Lead the way to the Tornado, my friend," Sonic chimed.

"O-okay..." Tails said, with a bit of uncertainty.

"Tails, you do remember where you left it don't you?"

"Everything looks the same here... But not to worry! I'll just locate it with my communicator."

Sonic waited impatiently as his friend fidgeted with his watch tapping the screen and pressing buttons.

"Darn..." Tails mouthed. "No signal. I can't find it this way."

"What do you mean, no signal? That thing gets a signal in space!" Sonic remarked.

"Yeah, look see for yourself," Tails offered.

"Ugh, fine I believe you," Sonic responded in annoyance.

"Sorry... I'll find the plane, Sonic, I just need to get over these trees," Tails volunteered, spinning his tails and taking off, not wasting any more time.

"Wait, Tails. No, don't go by yourself, I didn't mean to be such a... jerk," Sonic apologized but it was too little too late.

The whirring of the fox's tails faded away, leaving Sonic and Knuckles alone once again.

Sonic groaned and swore under his breath. He exchanged glances with Knuckles, but they were both tired and frustrated and probably hungry, too, that the last thing they wanted to do was talk to each other about what happened.

"Do you want me to go after him?" Knuckles asked somberly.

"Do whatever the fuck you want," Sonic snapped.

"We should stay together at least..." Knuckles suggested, trying his hardest to keep his cool.

"Fine, try to keep up."

Those were the last words Sonic said before taking off like the wind.

Knuckles did his best to stay close on his trail, but Sonic wasn't giving him an inch. If the forest hadn't been such a hazardous running path, Sonic would have certainly out run the echidna by now.

"Hey, shouldn't we be by the road?" Knuckles wondered out loud as they approached the end of the forest. "Why does that sound like..."

"Water!" Sonic blurted out, skidding to a halt near the edge of a cliff. "These cliffs were by the mansion! We ran away from it, not towards it!"

Knuckles climbed up to the top of a tree, spotting the mansion not one hundred yards from where they stood.

"This can't be right..." Knuckles whispered to himself. He didn't bother gliding down, jumping off and landing heavily on the cold ground, reluctant to give Sonic the bad news.

"The mansion's right over there. It's like we made a u-turn somewhere."

"No way. No fucking way, we've been running straight ahead for miles," Sonic asserted, taking a few steps back towards a tall tree.

"Where are you going?" The echidna questioned.

"I'm gonna find the way out of here. Stay here, and stay the hell away from that mansion," Sonic warned.

Sonic ran up a tree, getting a good vantage point from which to start running away from the looming estate. He tiptoed from treetop to treetop, then climbed down and went straight ahead at fast as he could.

Sonic's heart dropped, huffing when, after running for what seemed like miles, he approached the same cliffs, with the same ocean waves crashing onto them.

He ran passed the mansion several more times, but no matter which direction he ran, he ended up at the same cliffs where the mansion resided.

Sonic went back to find the echidna where he left him, walking along the coastline until he reached him.

"I can't..." Sonic started, in utter defeat. "There's no way out."

"Yes, there is..." Knuckles urged. "I think both you and I know what that is... We have to go back to the mansion, Sonic."

"No. We can't. I'm not going," Sonic said, voice breaking.

"We have to... Sonic... if what you and Tails saw actually happened in that house all those years ago... There has to be something far more sinister at work in there than we originally thought. Maybe if we help those kids—"

"Why?" Sonic cut him off. "Why do you think that's going to make a difference? They're dead! They're ghosts!"

Knuckles let out a frustrated sigh. When he spoke up again, he spoke calmly and softly.

"Sonic... This isn't like you... You're always so willing to help out those in need... If we're trapped here, the only way I see us getting out is by finding the answers in there. And I think that means we have to help those kids."

Sonic seethed, tired of deliberately ignoring what had happened between the two of them.

"Were you lying? Tails isn't here now so tell me the truth! Were you lying for his sake? You really expect me to believe you don't remember anything?"

Knuckles scoffed at himself, knowing he had it coming.

"I can't even say I'm sorry," he started. "I know it won't make a difference."

Knuckles hung his head low, breaking eye contact for a moment, too afraid to see the resentment in Sonic's face.

"You're right. I lied for Tails' sake... I didn't blackout. I don't remember everything... But I remember bits and pieces of it. I know I hurt you. And I really hurt you."

"Yeah, no kidding. I was there," Sonic spat.

Having heard enough, Sonic took a step back as if he was ready to run, but Knuckles quickly caught him.

"Babe, wait, hear me out. Please."

Sonic stared at the echidna's huge fist clenching his wrist, and Knuckles immediately let him go. Sonic stayed, but he made sure they had distance between them. He waited for the echidna to continue.

"It was like I was watching myself in a dream. From the time you came to get me in that room, up until I knocked you unconscious, it was me, but I wasn't in control of myself. Something about that place just made all of my worst insecurities surface... and it made me so angry, I took it out on you."

Knuckles' white-bowed chest rose and fell, exasperated by the simple thought of it.

"Is that really the truth?" Sonic asked, after he'd let it sink in for a while.

"That's it. Do you believe me?" Knuckles asked, hopefully.

"I want to..." Sonic trailed off, inching closer to the echidna. He couldn't help being so drawn to Knuckles by his innate handsomeness.

"No... I do. I believe you, Knux."

Sonic cupped Knuckles cheek in his hand and kissed him deeply, feeling his strong hands close around his lower back. It sent that jolt of passion down his spine that had been missing since all the insanity started.

"That felt good," Sonic said, after reluctantly pulling away from their kiss.

"So where do we go from here?"

Sonic sighed.

"Our first priority should be finding Tails... But we're not gonna be any good to him if we're still trapped in this place. I think you're right. I can't believe I'm saying this... we have to go back to that mind-fuck of a mansion."

* * *

 **A/N: Hello my dudes and dudettes. Happy new year! It's been a hot minute since I updated this (my apologies) but here is the next chapter. I was hoping this story would be finished ages ago, yet here I am. Again. Updating once in a blue moon. It's to be expected by now, so no more promises, I'll always aim for updating faster, or before losing everyone's interest in my stories, at the very least, but don't hold your breath. My creative juices have been running dry for a while now, and my motivation for this particular story was waning. And it sort of still is? Because I'm better at writing strictly drama (in my head at least), I keep rewriting this one until I give up and don't go back to it for months.**

 **But yay we got two amazing games! Mania and Forces, baby! I loved them both, but Forces was the one that pulled me in the most, for obvious reasons. I'm still replaying it to this day and keep finding new tidbits I missed during my initial playthrough. I know the game's been getting a lot of flack, but IDGAF I had fun with it, and I'm still having fun with it. Anyway, I digress. The reason why I mention Forces is because it gave me some much needed inspiration for more Sonuckles centered stories. I already have one in mind that's post-Forces, and one that doesn't have anything to do with Forces but it's Sonuckles and I can't get enough of those two as a couple. I may just do those as one shots before or while finishing up this story. And then I'm still in the planning stages for that *other* fic. The one that I feel more people will be interested in because it involves one dark and brooding hedgehog...**

 **Thank you as always for your nice comments, kudos, likes, and follows. I appreciate each and every one of you who takes the time to read this. Oh, and I will get to individual replies very soon! I haven't forgotten! You guys seriously make my day every time!**


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